Beneficiary Attribution

Background

Attribution or "assignment" is a key program methodology used to identify the beneficiaries associated with an ACO and defines the population for which the ACO is held accountable. Beneficiary assignment lists are used for program operations such as developing quarterly program reports, determining the ACO’s financial and quality performance, and determining whether an ACO is eligible to share in savings or losses. MSSP Track 1 and Track 2 utilize preliminary prospective assignment with retrospective reconciliation while MSSP Track 1+, Track 3, and the Next Generation ACO Model use prospective assignment. Generally speaking, assignment is determined based on the use of primary care services. NAACOS advocates for CMS to allow ACOs, regardless of track or model, to have the option to choose prospective or retrospective assignment.

NAACOS submits comments in response to HHS RFI on competition in the healthcare marketplace

DecemberCMS releases interim final rule establishing extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policies for the Shared Savings Program that will apply to ACOs subject to extreme and uncontrollable events such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California wildfires, effective for performance year 2017